BEING THE RICARDOS

Aaron Sorkin's Lucy Ball and Desi Arnaz biopic nevers gives you the feeling you are there, on the soundstages where it all happened.

In a touching final fifteen minutes writer-director Aaron Sorkin nails the complex relationship between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the power couple that shaped the early days of American television with their seminal sitcom I Love Lucy. The trouble with Being the Ricardos however are the nearly two hours that precede this denouement.

Here Sorkin shows the same flaws as in his previous outings as a director: scenes that needlessly drag, an overreliance on dialogue over visual storytelling and a narrative structure that at times is detrimental to the drama, most noticeably in an unnecessary present-day framework.

It doesn't help either that leads Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem take a long time to truly get a grip on their characters, while you can't help but notice that Sorkin's true affection lies more with the people in I Love Lucy's writers room or the sitcom's supporting cast than with Lucy and Desi.

So while Being The Ricardos has some snappy dialogue, a few insightful scenes and a decent premise, you never get the feeling you where there, on the soundstages where it all happened.

release: 2021

director: Aaron Sorkin

starring: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda